Lotus today has announced the business had a record-breaking first half of 2023.
Key achievements for the first six months to 30 June 2023 include:
- Order book grew to approximately 17,000 vehicles worldwide for the Eletre, Lotus’ first electric lifestyle hyper-SUV, and Emira, a mid-engine sports car.
- Produced over 2,200 Emiras in its UK sportscar manufacturing facility, which is a 381 percent increase from FY22. The order book for Emira is full for the next two years.
- Production of Lotus’ lifestyle hyper-SUV, Eletre, ramped up this year in its first all-electric vehicle factory. Customer deliveries began in China at the end of March, and Lotus expects to deliver to UK and European customers later this summer.
- Lotus expanded its global retail network to 193 stores, opening 24 new outlets over the first half of 2023.
- Expanded into South Korea, one of the largest luxury markets in the world, through a partnership to sell Lotus vehicles with the leading regional automotive retailer, Kolon Mobility Group.
- Nine awards won globally including ‘SUV of the Year’ for Eletre at GQ Car Awards and ‘Best Performance Car’ for Emira at UK Car of the Year Awards.
- Mike Johnstone joined the business as Chief Commercial Officer, bringing over 25 years of international experience in leading and growing automotive brands. He will be responsible for the Lotus’s global business and product strategy, as well as international expansion.
Feng Qingfeng, CEO of Lotus Group said: “We set an ambitious goal in 2018, with the launch of our Vision80 strategy to transform the business from a traditional automotive brand to become an all-electric, luxury, mobility provider in ten years. We have spent the last few years laying the foundations for success and today’s announcement demonstrates that Lotus is no longer the same business that it has been in previous years. We are firmly on track to becoming a global performance brand by 2028.”
Lotus plans to further ramp up production and sales for the second half of the year and expects the full year to surpass all previous years.